Compulsive Companion
by Sassyfox01
Summary: Al helps Wrath overcome his addiction to red stones, but will Wrath's suffering ever end? It'll take two to find out.


Compulsive Companion

_It's… so dark… so… cold. I need a light… _

A small _click_ made me jump. I lay on the cold, arid ground, gazing up. There was a bleak, red light above me, and tawny branches obstructed some of the brightness. I turned my head. Their gnarled branches hung low, and the pale, crimson glow of the light defined the crooked shadows of the twisted trees. I looked back up. This was… odd. There were no stars this big, and neither the sun nor moon were this… red. I stood up to find a way out of this offbeat forest. I advanced towards one of the distorted trees. It wasn't right. It was too close to the other tree. They were all too close to each other. They all were lined up to form a circle around me, too snug to sneak between the trunks. I was trapped.

That's when I heard it. The crying. The god damned crying. Not here. No, no, no. Not now! I covered my ears, but it only got louder. It wouldn't stop. I needed to shut it up! "Stop it!" I shrilled. I collapsed onto my knees in front of a tree. The wretched crying behind me persisted. I couldn't take it. I shakily stood up and spun around. There was… an opening. Trembling with adrenaline, I sprinted towards the vile shrieks under the blood colored light. The wooded path twisted and turned as I neared the ugly sobbing.

I came to an opening in the wood, and the crying was louder than ever. My vision was blurring because I was so infuriated. Rage took over. I held my head and fell to my knees again. Tears rolled down my cheeks and dribbled down to the ground, bedewing the parched ground. My hair blocked my vision as I whimpered "stop" over and over. The fussing of the child began to abate. With great effort, I lifted my head and peered through my lanky strands of hair to find a sniveling lump of cloths. I wiped the tears and strings of hair from my face and began to crawl towards it. It was time to end this.

I approached the pitiful pile of garbs and ripped away a piece of cloth covering the child's visage. I threw the piece in the air, and stared down at the wretched thing.

I froze.

It couldn't be…

No, this isn't possible! "No!" I screeched, shuffling on my knees away from the bug-eyed, inhuman… thing.

Monster.

Me.

I stood up to run away, but I looked down at my leg. Or lack thereof. I lost my balance and began tumble to the ground. I tried to throw my arm back to catch myself, but there was another void where my limb would be. I landed on my back, feeling as though thousands of needles cleaved into my skin. A scream from the bottom of my lungs poured out of me as I arched my back, feeling jagged fragments fall out of my back and clink to the ground. Gasping for breath, I fell back to the ground, my back meeting the shards once again.

I pivot my head to the left, and through my blurry vision I saw something towering… Something… Familiar… As I looked back up, I felt a shifting under—and inside—my back. With much effort, I used my remaining arm to sweep around my body and grab the substance I fell on. I pinched a small piece in my fingers and brought it to eye level. The glowing, crimson colored stone made my mouth water. I wolfed it down, feeling its warm sting down my throat and stomach. It felt so good… So… Empowering. I forgot about the stupid baby. The stones in my back began to buzz and warm… I felt them shift and drift further into my body. They were… gone. And so were my gashes, pain, and tears. I sat up, noticing something a little extra. My limbs. They were back with the same red tint as the light above me.

The new opaque limbs were almost like my own. I flexed my arm and bent my leg. They almost worked better than the old ones. I felt no pain, only buzzing warmth from these vigorous stones. I wobbly stood up, cautious not to screw anything up with these precious limbs. I carefully put my weight on the glowing leg. Everything seemed alright with it. I was forgetting something. The towering figure I saw before, right. I turned toward it. I treaded closer to it, examining the familiar markings and statues. There was something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. It was off. I looked up at this towering thing and it hit me. I froze before the evil gate. The opening to hell.

I couldn't go back… No! Never again! I trembled and stepped back slowly. I backed up to a cold, stone wall. I quickly turned around and beat my fist on it. Behind me I heard the slow, horrifying creak of the gate. I peered over my shoulder and recoiled at the voracious, dark hands accessing this realm. They lightly touched the wretched baby before pulling it in. I quickly whipped my body around, trying to back up, trying to get away. The wall began to rumble and scoot forward. I pushed my weight against the wall, digging my heels into the dirt. It was no use, the wall kept pushing closer and closer. I still resisted. The gate was a two body lengths away when the wall stopped. The hands approached me and grazed my new limbs. I swatted them away, but some of them had already grappled on. I screamed, trying to break free from their horrifying grasp, begging them to leave me be. They didn't listen. They did quite the opposite.

They dissected me, taking my new limbs away, ripping them from my shivering body. I howled and sobbed, watching these evil things take me apart. My leg and arm both detached, though there was no blood on them. But something was attached… A glowing figure. My figure. Could this be… My soul? Are they taking my soul away? "No! Please! I need that!" I wailed. The hands held me against the wall, making me watch my figure drift into the depths of hell. A last scream passed my lips as I was pulled into the pit of trial and torment.

I awoke with a jolt and a yelp. I breathed heavily, sweating. I struggled to sit up, not well accustomed to the new prosthetics. I wiped some strings of hair that stuck to my brow. My hand fell to my side. I listened to the quiet house settling. I sighed. _I shouldn't be here, _I thought. Suddenly, a creak of the oaken floorboards in the next room caught my attention. They neared my room and stopped right in front of the doorway. I didn't look up to see who it was. I expected it to be Winry. "Wrath?" a meek voice asked. My muscles tensed up when I heard him. I didn't want him to see me like this, so I stayed looking at the floor, hiding in my black locks. I gripped the edge of the bed. "Bad dream," I muttered, trying to control my shaky voice, "Nothing to worry about."


End file.
